The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-04-20
ROBBING The RAILROAD.
Organized Band of Thieves at Work.
A COMMERCIAL EARTHQUAKE WHICH
SHAKES GREEvILLE FROM CEN
IRE TO CIRCUMFERENCE.


The Mos. Lucrative Enterprise in ts'e
City Completely Broken up--The
chef Stockholders FIandcutfed
and Taken to Jai!.
Stolen Goods, Like the Measles, to beFounc
In Many Parts of the City---Sensatlona'
Stories Based on Facts, with superstruc-
ture Consisting Largely of Detective
Imaginings.
GrcenriNc Ne,rS, AprH II.
During the past five months the Richmond
6 I)anyille railroad company has suffered
much annoyance and loss from robberlcS OF
iis freight cars occurring NJ regular and IRE
quent intervals. Tie perfect machlhery OF
lhe system for tracing freight was put into
opCrat;on and it was gradually discovered
that the robbericS were committed in or nchi
this city aud from the cars Of through trains
ana were the work of we'll organized gang
proceeding Systematically.
Depot Agent Watson and Mr.. Wall. the
tracer of the company, proceeded to lnvesti.
cate and communicated with the police 0,
thIs city. Police Officer Schlapbach, who had
previously shown very decided detectIHe
ability, was put to work on the case and nc
has been given much time and attention 10 II
and gradually unravelinGit IL.
About three months ago he struck cinn
and has been following it up gradually untll
within the last few weeks when the case Wa>
in such condition that haiIroaa pc.ect,Ee
Fellars was sent here to take charge. Mr..
FcllarS has been very quiet ana very lew Peo'
pie knew of his presence here, most ol MS
work having been done at night.
Cho officers found that the gang OF thieves
was located here and that either by the con-
nivancc of SGme railroad man or by the oper'
ations of particularly sharp and alert opt
slider, the through cars of the night frelgh'
we're broken into before their arrival here.
These cars are not locked, the doors oelhg sc
cured with pieces of wire run throush smaii
lead seals which arc closed and stamped al
the shipping point and properly opened only
that the work was done at GreerS, fourteen
miles north of here, that being the only s'a'
tion at which freightS coming south regularly
stop after dark. Wherever the doors were
opcncd, 4 man got into the broken car ana
selected such goods us he wanted. These
were piled near the door and as the train
reached the outskirts OF this city tne gooas
were tumbled out at a point previously agreed
upon and Immediately hauled away by men
waiting there or concealed close by until the
hauling could be safely done. The man III
car could, meanwhile, jump out as tie train
slowed up before running into the yard, and
make off undiscovered.
The plan is not so difficult or 80 dangerous
MS il would seem to be at first thought. The
conductor in his cabooSe at the rear OF q train
of fifteen or twenty cars coul ID see nothing OF
what was being done anu at the stallon
would probably be busy on one side OF O tram
while the entrance was being forced at an
caboose and might walk over or around s.
broken car Il dozen times without seeing any.
thing. The rattle and roar OF the train would
drown all sound and as 1t whiried oy even On
a bright moonlit night nobody on 10 would
notice packages tumbled into q ditch or down
n bank or in q field. To the thieves the
crime no doubt, seemed to be absolutely safe.
They probably had little idea OF the system
in use on all first class railroads by which q
package offrcight or n car can be tracteu rom
station TO station along thousand miles OF
railroad and the point az Whicn H. mas nas oetn =,
doubtless seemed to them thatalong hundreds
of miles of road, with scores OF trains ana
tons of freight moving each way every gay
there was not one chance in thousand that
the stealing of q few packages bound from
New York to the far south or west from a
moving train would ever be detected.
1t was very easy for the officers to fnd out
how the robbery was done and O1hcer Schlap-
bach had the evidence 10 show who had been
offering the stolen goods for sale ana selling
and delivering them. But the difficulty was
to find who was doing the stealing ana 70
make a case which would insure the convic-
ton and punishment OF the thieves. Detcc-
live Fclars, John IIillhouse. who is special
officer, Officer Schlapbach, Mr.. Watson and
Mr.. Wall have all been on the watch and
nightly cxchanging.;he results of their obser'
vatiunS. The houses Of suspected men nave
hccn watched all night: the incoming night
trains have been watched at various points
near the city 10 see where or when IrciSnl
was dropped and who got It,.
Friday night Detective Fellars and Mr.,
fIiilhousc were going cautiously along inc
railroad track after the night freight had
come in. when they ran upon q large number
Of boxes Of plug tobacco at the SIDE or Inc
track where the track runs through Johnson
brick yard. a wagon was also there: ike
wise n figure which suddenly emerged from
hist !" and IN enquiry: "Who is that?"
WHO arc .ou?" Was the reply of the detec-
W;,,, e,r,, ,ou.tcrod words of apolony or
explanation the stranger suddenly turned
and disappeared. The detective and Mr:
Hillhouse walked away apparently bound
and sT after era a willie heard the boxes being load.
ed in to the wagon. then the wagon drive on.
They followed at a safe distance, hearing the
creaking Of the wagon diInnctIy ana Inc Inc
ing it. At one time one OF the boxes fell out
and the thieves stopped and replaced 1t. The
wagon drove into the, Buncombe road,
the lane leading from his place around the
ience of the fair grounds into the Rutherford
road, and the wagon disappeared, 80.
Three of the stolen boxes had Eeen leit
where they We're tumDed out OF the train,
about twenty-five, ii is surpassed having beer
carried away, while another was found carly
yesterday morning in ditch near the house
of Joe Harris, colored farmer who lives near
the Richmond & Danvillc depot and who was
suspect d of being one OF the gang. The
finrler Of this box, n colored man, came down
town to advertise IL. He went to the Baptist
Courier Office, mislaliing 1t for the Daily Ne,eS
and was sent by Mr.. Keys. of the Courier. to
capt. Reilly, of Cover & Refill 3, who was
thought 10 have lost some tobacco. Capt.
Reilly Immediately drove up ana got the box
which is marked to person in Wetumpka.
Ala.
Mr.. Watson swore out, on information and
belief, warrants against John Caldwell, Joe
Harris, Porter Windy and William Frone-
berger, charging them with larceny and re-
ceiving stolen goods. DeEuty Sheriff Gill
reath, Chief of Police Kennedy. Officer
Schlapbach, Detective Fcllars and John
tho arrests.
Ali the lncn were found but Windy. He
could not be found and the woman there said
he had not been home for ten days Windy
is the most dangerous man and the most in.
telligent of all. He is q graduate of the At
lanta university for cOlored students. He
got work with Cover & Reilly who found him
n valuable man because Of his brightness,
beautiful handwriting and ndremarkable quick
ness at figures. They were made suspicious,
however, by the fact that he bough. freely of
fine furniture and used to have his baby
trundled around in a handsome carriage by u
hired nurse. After some watching they dis
missed him, having caught him in theft.
Joe Harris is a farmer. He was arrested at
his house and a search of the premises result
ed in the finding OF 300 pounds Of split SILK"
brand # flour in fifty poEnd sacks. He said
Tinsley says that while he did sell Harris 300
pounds of -four it was nob"Split silk"
John Caldwell Is a white man. we'll known
here. lie is of small size, dark complexion
and smooth face and abort 20 years old and
wears spectaccs. The standing collar, white
cravat and white plug hat he has worn recent
ly gave him something of the appearance ofa
theological student which was contradicted
by the reed stem pipe he almost constantly
smoked. He is Il machinist and skilled
draughtsman, and worked for a while with
Long & Co. He has since been driving q sew.
ing machine wagon for r. w. Davis but has
law, Mr. johnson, in whose brick yard the
tobacco was dumped.
William Froneberser is colored man
known to everybody in Greenville. Probably
no man in this city could prove Il better char
acter than his and the news of his arrest
cause general surprise and regret. He is por-
ter for LipSc0mb L RnSSCll and WAS arrested